

Justine Damond death a 'perfect storm'

Was Australian life coach Justine Ruszczyk Damond murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, or was her shooting death a tragic case of walking into a "perfect storm" with horrendous circumstances?
That is what a jury of 10 men and two women have been left to decide after prosecutors and former officer Mohamed Noor's defence team delivered their closing addresses in a Minneapolis courtroom on Monday.
It was the end of three weeks of harrowing testimony.
"Regardless of your decision, Mr Noor is going to have to live with the fact that he took an innocent life," Noor's lawyer, Thomas Plunkett, told the jury.
Noor, a 33-year-old Somali-American, was charged with murder and manslaughter for firing a fatal bullet into the stomach of Ms Damond, a 40-year-old formerly of Sydney and US-Australian dual citizen.
Ms Damond was home alone on a July night in 2017 when she heard a woman's screams near an alley behind her house in one of Minneapolis' safest neighbourhoods and called 911, fearing a possible rape.
It was just before midnight and the alley was poorly lit.

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Noor and his partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, testified Ms Damond startled them when she approached their stationary squad car at the end of the alley.
Noor, from the front passenger seat of the vehicle, fired across Officer Harrity and out the open window, striking Ms Damond, who was barefoot and wearing a pink "Koala Australia" t-shirt and pyjama pants.
Noor, fearing an ambush, said he made the split-second decision because Officer Harrity had fear in his eyes, exclaimed "Oh Jesus!" and struggled to pull his gun out of its holster.
"Whatever Harrity said or did, it was not a command for the defendant to shoot and kill Ms Ruszczyk," Prosecutor Amy Sweasy told the jury.
Ms Sweasy attacked Noor's credibility and questioned his claim he and Officer Harrity heard a loud noise just before Ms Damond appeared.
She noted neither Noor nor Officer Harrity mentioned the bang at the scene, with Officer Harrity first talking about it three days later in an interview with an investigator, and pointed out Ms Damond's fingerprints were not found on the car.
"There is no conclusive proof she ever touched that car," Ms Sweasy said.
Mr Plunkett began his closing address with an element of drama.
The defence lawyer banged his lectern, shouted a profanity and yelled, "Pow!"
Mr Plunkett was recreating Noor's testimony that he heard a bang right before Ms Damond approached the squad car, followed by his partner swearing and struggling to pull out his gun.
Noor said he saw Ms Damond raise her right arm before he fired.
"It's the perfect storm," Mr Plunkett said.
Mr Plunkett urged jurors to look at the precise moment of the shooting, without the benefit of hindsight, and consider whether a reasonable officer would do the same thing when confronted by the same factors.
The jury will be sequestered until reaching a verdict, with deliberations resuming Tuesday.
Noor, who had been an officer for less than two years, was fired from the police force soon after the charges were filed last year.
With AP
© AAP 2020

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